Category Archives: Friendship

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The Bird Bath

Now That's Being A Church Right There!!

 

The birds have made a bird bath out of the puddle in the streets!  Now that’s being a church right there!

It finally rained here in drought strickened Colorado a couple of Sundays ago.  Just enough to wet the ground…… and just enough to form a few puddles in the road.  Whoa, and boy did the dirty birds take advantage of it.

Not the best picture, (I didn’t want to get too close and spoil their fun), but you can see these dirty birds were celebrating their new found water source.

I’m calling these birds “dirty birds” for a reason.  They are English sparrows.  They are a pest.  Their other name should be “flying rats”.  Pigeons get the blame for all their dirty deeds.  Poopin on sidewalks, on cars, on……ME!!!  Look at any Wal-Mart Entrance, and in the big letters on the wall above you as you walk in, there will be a nest.  And when you walk under it……..splat!!

Hey, I like birds.  But English sparrows are different.  The live in towns and cities where they expect a “free ride” from the trash us humans leave around.  And to top it off, they can’t even sing.  Just chirp,chirp, chirp, chatter,chatter, and more chatter.  How wrong is that?

But today, these dirty birds are teaching me a lesson.  Honestly, today maybe God is using these dirty birds to teach me a lesson.  A lesson on living water.

1 John 1:7  If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

These “dirty birds” were getting cleansed.  They were taking a bath in fresh rain water.  And they were enjoying the moment.  No need to see who was the dirtiest.  No need to see who splashed the best.  Just getting cleansed.  Just taking the time to enjoy the water sent from the Heavens.  Hmmm………. sounds like what church should be.

I bet there are a bunch of “dirty birds” at the church where you attend.  I’m also betting there are a bunch of “dirty birds” at the church where those of you that don’t go –would go– if you did go.  Huh?  What I’m saying is this.  Pick a church, any church, and you’ll see a bunch of “dirty birds”.  Some try to hide it, pretend they aren’t dirty as YOU, or even try to get away with being dirty by saying, “I’m fine, how are you?”

But friend, here’s the wake up call for you.  Look at the picture again.  The birds are tellin’ ya!  It’s not how dirty everybody is, IT’S HOW CLEAN AND REFRESHING THE WATER FROM HEAVEN IS!!

You pick a church and you go to it.  Give it a try!  Rule #1…. Don’t go to see all the “dirt”.  Rule #2… Go to SEE the Living Water!  Spiritually, that’s Jesus Himself.  He’s there!  I’ll be totally honest with you.  He’s everywhere.  But the fellowship of being with other “dirty birds” who are being cleansed is what church is about. (Or should be!!)  You regular church goers, yep talking to you,…… make these new dirty birds feel right at home in your cleansing water puddle with the steeple on it.  It’s not your water, it came from above, remember?    And you dirty birds that don’t participate in any church activities,…… yep, talking to you this time,……here’s a question.  Does it make any sense for the bird to never go to bird bath?  Oh, there’s always reasons, but why wouldn’t the birdy not take a little time out of his day to fellowship in the water puddle with the steeple on it.  The birds taught me this…… When you are focused on the water, the cleansing refreshing water, you lose sight of all else.  Too much joy from being refreshed to worry about any and all dirt from You as well as others.

Come to church.  You’ll see  me there!  I’ll be splashing away in this Life Giving Water!  I know, I know, you can dunk yourself in cleansing water anywhere, anytime, anyplace.  But friend, there’s something special about having a fellowship with fellow believers who are on the same journey as you.  Even for a loner like me……..(and some of you).  The joy, inner peace, being refreshed in my soul is magnified when I’m with other Christians.  Even when we all are the “dirty birds”!

See Ya!   Dan Ainsworth Wilderness Preacher

 

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Any Hope For the Next Generation?

Wondering What Their Future Will Be

I’m wondering what the future holds for my son and daughter. What does the future hold for all you guys in your 20’s and 30’s?  Even those in your 40’s.

It’s a whole different world out there.  I know, I know,……. I’m gonna sound like an “old geiser” whose wishin’ for the old days, but my oh my, how this world is changing.

I grew up making a living by mostly working on a tractor, working on a farm for my living.  Actually there have been many different careers that I have been involved in to pay the bills.  From working on the farm with cattle, gardens, and chickens to selling insurance and mutual funds, digging graves, and owning a funeral home.  What I’ve learned on this career journey is preparing me for what’s to come as I enter the final quarter of my life.

The newer generation is also learning as they begin their careers.  But whew………. what’s out there today for them to have to be involved in.  GOOD and BAD!!!

I got my knowledge from reading books (even the encyclopedias…… man I do sound like an old geezer).  They get theirs, well shoot, they just google and ask Siri.  Even gettin’ me to look things up that way.

I got the world’s news from reporters.  They get theirs from “talking heads”.  They get theirs from people who take what’s truly happening and “spin it” to meet specific goals and agendas.  Where’s the truth?  How is anyone supposed to know what is truly happening?

This newer generation spends time with a bent neck looking down at their phones or whatever devices to see who is socially interacting with them.  How many likes, how many views.  Back in the day, the only electrical device I bent my neck down to watch was the toaster!  (I know, I’m an old timer.)

Anywhere you look it seems that people are getting angry/impatient/selfish and troubled.  I guess I was too busy back in the day on the tractor with cows and the dog to notice the angry and troubled people then.

 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, evil men who push away the truth from them.   For the truth about God is known to them instinctively;  God has put this knowledge in their hearts.  Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God at Judgment Day.

   Yes, they knew about him all right, but they wouldn’t admit it or worship him or even thank him for all his daily care. And after a while they began to think up silly ideas of what God was like and what he wanted them to do. The result was that their foolish minds became dark and confused.  Claiming themselves to be wise without God, they became utter fools instead.  Romans 1:18-22

That scripture was written a couple of thousand years ago. Hmm……., I guess the world hasn’t changed that much after all.  Maybe things just happen faster nowadays.

Here’s some advice from someone in the 4th quarter of his life.   Someone who can say, “I have been with God on this journey,….. and He has been with me.  That makes me a HAVE been not a “has been”.  This someone is me.  My advice to the newer generations?………..

Don’t become wise without God.  This world is crazy enough without you becoming mixed up in it.  Stay above the fray.  Be in the world but NOT of the world.  Make sure God is with you.  Most of all,…….. make sure you are WITH God.  There’s not enough time in this blog to tell you all you need to know about this life and journey.  It will take time to learn,…… it will take a life time!  Make sure your life is ALIVE!  How does one do that?  That’s the mystery of this spiritual journey you and I are own.  There are highs and there are lows.  Ups and downs, but stay focused on your Lord and Saviour Jesus.

I have been and will continue to be.  Since I have been, this means that I am not a “has been”.  I firmly have hope for these newer generations.  Hope, not in worldly craziness, but in God’s eternal stability and support……. for them.

My 4th quarter has begun.  My son taught me that the last two minutes of the ball game were the most important.  All the other time in the game is leading up to this most important time.  I agree.  I say it again!  I have been and will continue to be.  Since I have been and am BEING, this means that I am not a “has been”.  My 4th quarter will involve interacting more with these newer generations.  I may not physically be on my tractor plowing new ground and cultivating the soil,……. but that prepared me for my time now of plowing new relationships with people and cultivating friendships with others on this spiritual journey we are all own.

I have hope for these newer generations.  If you don’t,……. I KNOW WHERE YOU CAN FIND SOME!!

See Ya!   Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher

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I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

You Are Not To Be Alone In This Christian Journey

It’s My log house!  But I need help from my friends to complete it.  I’ve built it, but I needed help with the construction up high, (since I’m scared of heights).

I also needed help with the tedious, hard to fit, most precise pieces of this puzzle that I call a log home.  I’m not good with exact measurements.  “Eyeball” measurements are what I use.  Make it close enough and that’s good enough.  If I’m building this house and make a measurement and it’s within a half inch of what it’s supposed to be, then “nailer tailer”.  That means it’s close enough, so to me it’s good enough!!

But not my friends from the construction crew.  Nope,….. Stuart, Chris, Rip, and Scott want the best for my log house.  They want the best for me!!!

Being within a half inch may be “good enough” for me, but it’s totally unacceptable to these guys.  Get this.  They will saw, cut, measure, move, pry, measure, shimmy, adjust, measure, and then measure again until it’s within an eighth of an inch!  That’s the space between these to lines. (II) In a house measured in feet, they won’t stop until what they are constructing measures to within 1/8 of an inch of being exact, of being perfect.

They are my friends.  I’ll admit I couldn’t do this without them.  They can see things that I wasn’t looking for or even that I myself wasn’t even aware of in my own log house.

They are able to make My log home even better than what I myself could be doing.  Why are they doing this?  Like I’ve said, they are my friends.  They want what’s best for me.

Well, that’s great and all.  But it’s my house, and honestly I grow tired of waiting.  I grow impatient.  I grow “antsy” because it’s taking too much time.  I grow restless, I grow annoyed.  But I grow,…….hmmm I grow to be more exact and perfected.

Don’t get me wrong, this log house is full of crooked logs, bent, scarred, and full of (Character/flaws).  But with the help of my friends, it’s being “perfected”.  Kinda like how our lives as Christians are being perfected.  You and I are all full of scars,we are crooked,we have flaws (or character) and yet, God is “perfecting” us each day.  Lots of times, it’s with the help of our friends.

Hey, I know, you and I don’t enjoy having other people tell us what to do.  We certainly don’t like people telling us how to live our lives.  I’ll confess. I’m at the top of that list.  But I’m not talking about people in general.  Not the know- it-alls, the busybodies, the do-it-my-way people.  What I’m talking about are the true friends.  Friends who care about you, who want the best for you.  Friends whether they realize it or not,………..that are being used by God to “make you a little more exact and perfect”.

James 1:4 and let steadfastness have its full effect,that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Proverbs 19:20  Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.  Many are the plans in a persons heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Is my log house perfect?  N0 way!!  But with the help from my friends, it has become more exact and more close to perfect.

Is my life perfect?  No way!!  But with the help from my friends, It is growing to become more exact and more close to what God wants me to be.

This coming week, I’ll be at a men’s retreat with a bunch of guys who are my friends.  The Noble Heart is an online group of guys who help each other with their God given calling.  They help each other continue on this Christian journey, they offer support, they pray.  They are true friends.

Is your life perfect?  Aw c’mon no way right?  Do you allow your friends and family to offer help and advice on how to live your life?

Maybe, just maybe one of those “good for nothing” friends is actually being used by God to make an improvement in your life.  Maybe just maybe one of those family members may be God’s way of getting through your thick skull so that you can be made better, more exact, even more perfected.

Think about it.  You belong to God.  He wants the best for Himself.  He will perfect you and make you more exact to what He wants you to be.  In spite of ALL your flaws, He is in the being made perfect and whole business.  Don’t rob your friends and family of the opportunity of letting God use them to speak some words of advice to you.

It’s your house, I mean it’s your life.  You must decide who,what, when to listen to.  Your friends just may be how God chooses to GROW you.

“Lord, I thank you for my friends.  Help me to know and understand when You may be speaking thru them to get to me.  Help me become more exact and “perfect” to what you’ve created me to be.  Help me to truly care for others so that You may use me to speak to another.  Amen.”

See Ya!  Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher